Coupon inserting mechanism for wrapping machines



E. L.- SMITH June 13, 1933.

COUPON INSERTING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed July 16, 1932 SSheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Zmm LJW/m BY ATTORNEYJ E. L;-SMITH- Jun g 13, 1933.

COUPON INSEBTING MECHANI SM- FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Ju 1 16. 1952 S'SheetS -Sheet 5 GQ Q Q IN VENT 0R 7 1 #157? Z. S/v/m ATTORNEYS June 13, 1933. E,.L. SMITH 1,913,642

C(SUPON INSERTING- MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed July- 16. 1952 5 She ts-Sheet 4 AITO Em Q NVENTOR June 13, 1933. SMITH 1,913,642

COUPON INSERTING MECHANISM FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed'July 16, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet. 5

I A //f //Z- BY Y7 //////////Z I Q g ATT RNEYS meme ms pons to the main feed um'rso sums PATENT, OFFICE mm. In III'IH, OI LOIGIIADO W, :ILBBACHUBITTI, ASSIGNOB '10 PACKAGE CHI-III! OOIPAJIY, OI flPmGI'IILD, KAGBAOKUSEITB, A. CORPORATION OI xaashcnumrs eouron mums mums: Ion waarrnwe noannrs Application lied July 10,

. relates to the introduction of a folded coupon, although in some aspects it is not limited to this use. One object of the invention is to increase the rmissible speed ofoperation of the machine by making the coupon introducin mechanism independent of the position 0 the plunger which carries the ar-' ticle into the wrapping mechanism. Another object is to im rove the manner of securing accurate registration of the coupon with the article. Another object 18 to provide improved mechanism for. preventing the feed of a coupon in the event that an article is absent. Additional objects will appear from the following description and claims.

Referring to the drawings- Fi 1 is a sectional view, taken trans verse y of the wrapping machine illustrating the mechanism for supplying fblded coulide of t e wrapping machine; 1

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic plan illustrative of the relative positions of the main feed slide, the article supply and the coupon 'Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section through the main feed slide of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a detail of the main feed slide looking from the right in Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the main feed slideway looking from the left in Fig. 3 and showing the article and coupon feeding plunger head on;

Figs. 6 and 7 are sections respectively through the main feed slide and the coupon feed, showing the relative position of the parts just prior to the introduction of a coupon into the feed slide;

igs. 8 and 9 are similar viewsshowing ma. lerlal at. 882,998.

10'and 11 are similar views showing.

Fig. 13 is a side e evation, looking in the direction of Fig. 3, showing the mechanism for controlling the feed. of a coupon in accordance with the presence or absence of an article; I g

Fig. 14 is a transverse section through the machine showing the control mechanism in end elevation;

Fig. 15 is a diagrammatic plan of a modifica'tion; v 7

Figs. 16 to 20 are transverse sections of the modification of Fig. 15; and

Fig. 21 is a longitudinal section thereof.

Since the wrapping mechanism in itself forms a (part of the present invention only in its broa aspects and as an element in combination with the cou on feed it will not be described in detail. 'Fhe wrapping machine to which the present invention has been applied is preferably of the type shown in the Armstrong Patents 1,244,277, Oct. 23, 1917, and 1,308,321, July 1, 1919, and reference, may be made to those patents fora complete description of those features of the machine relating purely to its wrapping functions. In the pzesent drawings the ath of the article has en followed from t e magazine from which it is fed up to the point of its association with the coupon; the path of the coupon has been followed from its supply magazine up to the same association point; and

tuted in accordance with the nature of the package to be produced.

The-articles a are initially'stacked in a hopper mounted on the machine frame 16.

Reciprocating under this hopper is a main feeding plun r 17 of the double elevation type, having orizontal su rting surfaces 18 and 19 and vertical pus mg faces 20 and 21. The plunger 17 has a lug 22 joined by an adjustable link 23 to the upper end of a slotted arm 24 pivoted at 25 to the-frame. Within the slot slides a block 26 mounted upon a pin 27 on the end of a crank 28 carried by a constantly rotating shaft 29. As the shaft rotates the plunger will be reciprocated forward and back, the return'motion to the right in Fig. 3 being faster than its forward motion. As shown in Fig. 4 the plunger preferably has slanting sides 30 held down by gibs 31 and bears at its bottom on.

hardened pieces 32.

In the position of Fig. 10 the plunger is returning to its rearmost position, and the article in the magazine supported by the upper surface 18 is about to fall off in front of the first pushing face 20., The article which the present machine was designed to wrap has a label extending around it, and

for this reason the supporting surfaces 18 and 19 have shallow grooves 33 (Figs. 4 and 5) formed in them to avoid injury to the label, thearticle being held only, at its lateral margins. The article is advanced by the pushing face 20 until it passes under a pair of laterally spaced latches 34 and a presser 35, each freely pivoted on a shaft 36. In the forward end of the upper surface of the pusher, and in the vertical face 20, is formed a slot 37 to receive the latch. As the plunger nears the forward end of its movement the latch 34 drops behind the package as in Fig. 8 and the presser rides up on its top. When the plun er again recedes the package will be left ig. 10) restin upon the lower supporting face 19 of t e plunger until the plunger has'reached nearly the rearward end of its movement, when the package drops down past the pushing face 21 onto the bed plate 38 of a wrapping channef 39. The presser 35 assists in insuring a ositive movement of the package onto t e bed plate. Upon the next succeeding forward movement of the plunger the pus ing face 21 carries the article through the wrapping channel, across which a sheet of wrapping material 5 has been placed by any suitable mechanism.

The path of the coupon 0 lies at right angles to that of the article, as will be most clearly visualized from Fig. 2. The coupon magazine 40 is su ported on a bracket 41 at one side of the line of the articles advance. A needle 42 engages the rear of the underside of the stack of coupons in the usual manner, the lowermost coupon being fed out by a rotating friction segment 43, Forward ng E'Qll 44, 45, and 46 seize the coupon as it is projected from the magazine by the segment and direct it into a vertical guideway 47 in which it falls to rest against adjustable stop pins 48. To avoid frictional disturbance on account of the fact that the forwarding rolls move somewhat faster than the segment the I latter is' mounted loosely on its constantly rotating driving shaft 49 and has a lug 50 which is contacted by a pin 51 on the shaft. This arrangement permits a positive drive of the segment during its feeding function but allows the segment to overrun its driving pin during the feeding of the coupon by the forwarding rolls.

A folding and feeding blade 52 is mounted on a slide 53 sliding on a rod 54 and having :1 lug 55' sliding between guide bars 56. The slide is joined by a link 57 to one arm 58 of a bell crank freely pivoted on a shaft 59. The other arm 60of the bell crank is connected by a spring 61 with one end of a lever 62 also swinglng on the shaft 59 and slotted at its other end to receive a crank pin 63 on a constantly rotating shaft 64. A set screw 65 is threaded through a lug 66 on the bell crank arm 58 so as to contact with an abutment on the lever 62, and is held in adjusted position by a lock nut 67. The blade 52.is thus reciprocated forward and back, its forward stroke being under the power of the spring 61 only so that the spring may yield if the blade encounters an obstruction. The set screw 65 forms a convenient adjustment for the forward end point of the blades reciprocation.

As the blade 52 moves forwardly (to the left in Figs. 1 and 7) it encounters the coupon 0 which at this time is standing vertically in the guideway 47 upon the pins 48. The blade first folds the coupon transversely by forcing it between. folding ledges 68 and 69, then carries it through a guideway 70, and finally positions it upon a support 71 (Fig. 8) directly beneath the article which at that time is held by the latch 34 upon the lower supporting surface 19 of the article feeding plunger 17. The bottom of the plunger is recessed at 72 so that the blade 52 with the coupon a folded around its end can passv under the advanced plunger without interference with it. The blade 52 immediately starts to move rearwardly (Fig. 9) While the folded coupon opens up against the lower side of the plunger and the support 71 with sufficient friction to cause it to remain in position.

The plunger 17 is itself moving rearwardly during this time and finally reaches the position of Fig. 10 which requires some further description. By this time the blade 52 has withdrawn from underneath the plunger 17 so that the latter only needs to be considered. In a slot 73 in the pu h g face 21 of the adjustment of the coupon feeding plunger is mounted a pawl 74 swinging freely upon a cross pin 75. The frontend of the pawl is doubly beveled, one'face 76 being shaped to clear the slot in support and the bed plate 38 and the other face 77 serv 'ing as a vertical pusher for the coupon in the manner shown in. Fig. 12. When the plunger is traveling rearwardly, or to the right in Fig. 10, the pawl 74 rides over the top of the folded coupon and drawing it back against a pair of stationary pins 78 secured to the support 71 so that the coupon is accurately alined across the feedway. The upper faces of these pins are preferably rounded to avoid interference with the article being moved down by the presser 35. As soon as the plunger has moved sufliciently for the pawl to clear the coupon the forward end of the pawl drops down as indicated in Fig. 12, although that figure shows a later stage than the one under discussion. A'rearward extension 79 on the pawl contacts the underside of the plunger 17 so as to limit the distance it can swing, and the bottom of the forward end of the pawl is rounded as shown in Fig. 5 so as to fit into a similarly curved groove 80 extending through the support 71 and the bed plate 38. When the pawl is in the position of Fig. 12 its pushing face 77 is preferably in substantial alinement with the rear face of the article, so that as the plunger advances the coupon and the article will be lined up and carried together into the wra ping channel 39.

It wil be apparent from the above description that the coupon is fed. during the motion of the article feeding plunger and that there is no necessity of causing the plunger to dwell for any length of time at the rearward end of its stroke to permit the positioning of the coupon. This afiordsa considerable advantage as contrasted with machines such as that shown in Armstrong 1,308,821 cited above, in which the coupon is positioned in front of the article feeding plunger while the latter is held at the rearward end of its'stroke. A correlated advantage is that there is more time available for the coupon lacing movement of the blade 52 or equiva ent device, so that this motion need not be hurried. A greater freedom is also van in the relative timing of the article p anger and. the coupon p acing blade, giving somewhatmore freedom in design and devices. These advantages will of course be independent of the particular wrapping mdchinc with which the device is associated, and of the specific design of the several mechanisms.

These relations in the timing of the arti- V cle and coupon feedi-n slides are also taken advantage of in the: evice which controls the feed of the coupon in accordance with the presence or absence of an article. T his device is shown in Figs. 13 and 14. Secured on the frame 16 is a bracket in which rocks a shaft 86 provided, with an arm 87 and a feeler 88- adapted to rest upon the articles as they are pushed out of the ma azinc 15. Arm 87 is joined b a link 89 wlth an arm 90 carried by a'sha arm 92 on this shaft is coupled by a link 93 with one arm 94 of a bell crank pivoted at 95 to the frame. The second arm 96 of the bell crank bears a stop screw 97 urged towards a fixed abutment 98 by a tension spring 99 actin on the arm 92.

To a rive shaft 100 is secured a member 101 having a pawl 102 pivoted to it at 103. A spring 104 normally holds this pawl in engagement with a single toothed ratchet 105 secured to a bevel gear 106 and freely rotatable upon the shaft 100. Gear 106 is in constant mesh with a similar gear 107 on the shaft 64 which operates the coupon feed. The tail 108 of the pawl is positioned so that upon its rotation in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 13 it will strikea lug 109 on the bell crank arm 94 when this is lowered into the dotted line position of Fig. 13 by the absence of an article. When this occurs the pawl will be raised clear of the ratchet and the rotation of shaft 64 stops, arresting the action of the coupon feed for the remainder of the cycle.

Due to the fact that the coupon can be inserted under the. plunger while the latter is advanced, the coupon feed is inactive at the time when the% article is just Mi? advanced from the hop er 15 (compare igs. 1 and 3). If no artic e is fed out of the hopper the pawl 102 is disengaged from the ratchet and the coupon feed is stopped while still in this inactive position. It will be observed from Fig. 1 that at this time the crank pin 63 is traveling through a substan- 91. A second tially circular portion of the slot in lever 62 and is, therefore, causing no motion of the lever or of the parts operated by it. The result of this is that when the pawl 102 is again allowed to engage the ratchet by the emergence of an article from the magazine the only load on the shaft'64 is the inertia of the crank disk. Much less strain is exerted on the ratchet and its attendant parts than would be the case were the interruption in: the action of the coupon feed to take place at some other point in the cycle. v

In Figs. 15 to 21 are shown a series of views illustrating the operation of a slightly modified insert feeding device. In this case a single elevation plunger 11) is used, having a-groove 111 along its side adjacent the insert in ine 112. The slide 113 which delivers t e inserts from their magazine is the insert with the slide, so that it drops off the end of the slide onto a support 116 when the slide recedes, as in Fig. 18. next forward stroke of the slide the card is pushed forwardly by the slide end, as in Fig. 19, into the groove 111. The plungers way, falling upon the now completely positioned insert 0. Upon the next forward stroke of the plunger the article and insert will be carried together into the wrapping machine. In order to avoid any tendency of the insert. to travel backwardly with the plunger 110 it preferably passes under a roll 119 journaled adjacent the side of the article guideway.

What I claim is:

1. A wrapping machine comprising an article guideway, an article forwarding plunger spaced at its under side from the bottom of the guideway, means for feeding a coupon underneath the plunger while theplunger is advanced, and a pivoted pawl secured to the plunger so as to pass freely over the coupon during the rearward movement of the plunger and to feed the cou on forwardly during the succeeding article forwarding stroke of the plunger.

. 2. A wrapping mac ine com rising an article guideway'grooved on its ottom, an article Aforwarding plunger spaced at its under side from the bottom of the guideway, means for feeding a co on underneath the plunger while the plunger is advanced, and a pivoted pawl secured to the plunger so as to pass freely over the coupon during the rearward movement of the plunger and to drop into the groove in the article guideway to feed the coupon forwardly during the succeeding article forwarding stroke of the plunger. y 3. A wrapping machine comprising an article guideway, an article forwarding plunger movable through the guideway and spaced at its under side from the bottom of the guideway, a blade reciprocable at right angles to the plunger and timed so as to pass into the space between the plunger and. the

guideway while the plunger is advanced, an

aperture through which the blade moves, means for delivering a coupon into the path of the blade at the entrance to the aperture whereby the coupon will be folded upon the blade, and a pawl pivoted to the plunger so On the rearward movement of the plunger and to' feed the coupon forwardly during the succeeding article forwarding stroke of the plunger.

4. A wrapping machine comprising an article guideway, an article forwarding plunger spaced at its under side from the bottom of the guideway, means for feeding a coupon underneath the plunger while the plunger is advanced, a pivoted pawl secured to the plunger so as to pass freely over the coupon during the rearward movement of the plunger and to feed the coupon forwardly during the succeeding article forwarding stroke of the plunger, and a stop against which the coupon is drawn by the pawl during the rearward movement of the plunger to straighten the coupon and revent excessive rearward movement thereo space between the plunger and the guideway while the .plunger is advanced, an aperture through which the blade moves, means for delivering a coupon into the path of the blade at the entrance to the aperture whereby the coupon will be folded upon the blade and will then be deposited by the blade in folded condition under the plunger, a pawl pivoted to the plunger so as to pass freely over the coupon during therearward movement of the plunger and to feed the coupon forwardl during \the next succeeding article forwar ing stroke of the plunger, and a stop against which the coupon is drawn by the pawl during the rearward movement of the plunger to straighten the coupon and prevent excessive rearward movement thereof.

6. A wrapping machine comprising an article guideway, a double elevation plunger reciprocable in the guideway and having its under side spaced from the bottom of the guideway, means for placing an article in front of the upper pushing face of the plunger when the,plunger is retracted, means for preventing retrograde movement of the article after being pushed forwardly by the upper pushing face of the plunger, means for imam l plunger is advanced, and means for carrying the coupon forwardly with the article duringthe next succeeding article forwarding stroke of the plunger.v V

8'. A wrapping machine comprising an ar- 10 ticle guideway, a double elevation plunger reciprocable in-the guideway and havin its under side spaced rom the bottom 0 the guideway, a hopper through which the plun er reciprocatesand from which an article is fed by the upper pushing face of the plunger at each cyc e, a latch preventing retrograde movement of the article after bein pushed forwardly by the upper pushing ace of the plunger, a lade reciprocable at right angles to the plunger and timed so as to ass into the space between the plunger an the guideway while the plunger .18 advanced and directly beneath the position to which the article is delivered by the upper pushin face of the plunger, an aperture througfi which the blade moves, means for delivering a coupon into the path of the blade at the entrance to the aperture whereb the coupon will be folded upon the blade an will then be deposited by the blade in folded condition under the plun er and underneath the article, so that when t e article is releasedby the lower pushing face of the plunger passing behind it the article will drop upon the previously positioned coupon in front of said lower pushing face, a pawl pivoted to the plunger so as to pass freely over the coupon durin the rearward movement of the p unger an to feed the coupon forwardly durin the next succeeding article forwardin stro e of the lunger, and a stop against w ich thecoupon is drawn by-the pawl during the rearward movement of the plunger to straighten the coupon and prevent excessive rearward movement thereof.

9. A wra ping machine comprising an article gui eway, an article forwarding plunger reciprocable in the guideway,'the plunger having an upper article supporting surface and presenting a space below it into which an insert may be placed, means for feeding an insert into the space beneath the plunger while the plunger is advanced and supporting an article, whereby the article will drop upon the insert when the plunger for forwarding rt. .10. A wrapping machine comprising an icle guideway, an article forwarding lunger' .reciprocable in the guideway, the lunger having an upper article supporting surface and presenting a space below it into whichanin'sert may ,be placed, means for I feeding an the space beneath 'ing the insert against retraction b both the article and the inplunger while the plunger is advanced and supporting an article, whereby the article wi drop upon the insert when the plunger is retracted, means formaintaining the insert against retraction by the lun r, and means carriedby the lunger or orwarding both the article an the insert.

11. A wrapping machine comprising an article ,magazine, an article guideway, an article forwardi plunger reciprocablc through the magazine and along the guide way, the plunger having an up r article sup rting surface and a space low said sur ace into which an insert may be introduced, means for feeding an insert into the space beneath the plunger while the plunger is advanced and supporting an article in the magazine, whereby t e article will dropu n the insert and in front of the lunger w on the latter is retracted, means or maintaiilit e lun r, and means carried b the p unger olrt orwarding both the artic e and the in- 12. A wrapping machine comprising an article magazine, an article guideway, an article forwardi plunger reciprocable through the magazine and along the guideway, the plun r having an upper article supporti sur ace and a side opening slot be ow sai be introduced, means for feeding an insert into the plunger slot while the pl r is advanced and supporting an article in the magazine where y the article and the insert will drop to the bottom of the when the plunger is retracted, a rol or under which the insert is fed to prevent movement ef the insert by the plunger until the insert is fully positioned, and means carried by the plunger for forwardingboth the article and the insert.

13. A wrapping machine coin ris' an article guideway, an article irw d r iing plunger reciprocable in the guideway, the plunger having an upper article su portin surface and presenting a space be ow said surface into which an insert may be introduced, an insert feeding lunger movable at right angles to the artic e feeding plunger, and means for 0 rating the pl timed relation w ereby the insert ceding plu r will introduce an insert'beneath the arti dfie supporting surface of the article forggmtnc and means ended y the p g warding plunger while the latter is advanced and su porting an article. I

14. wrapping machine com rising an article (guideway, a double elevation article forwar ng plun r reciprocable in the idewa and he front and rear pushing aces an a forwar article su port surface and presenting a space he ow sai surface into which an insert may be introduced, an insert feeding plunger movable at right angles to the artic feeding. plunger, means surface into which an insert may ideway ill iao

for operating the plungers in timed relation whereby the insert feeding plunger will introduce an insert beneath the article supporting surface of the article forwarding I plunger while the latter is advanced and supporting an article, and means responsive to the absence of an article being forwarded by the rear pushing face ofthe plunger to arrest the movement of the insert feeding plunger at the outermost limit of its motion. In testimony whereof I have aflixed my signature.

ELMER L. SMITH. 

